by Lufthansa Flyer | Mar 18, 2012 | Airlines, Industry News |
According to various reports coming out of Europe. Lufthansa has indicated that it is willing to shut down BMI if the sale of the British carrier to IAG (parent of British Airways and Iberia) is blocked by EU regulators.
Lufthansa is concerned about ongoing losses being incurred while the sale hangs in limbo, and any additional delays in the EU’s approval process will only extend the losses to Lufthansa.
I suspect Lufthansa is using this position as leverage to “help” the EU regulators approve the sale. Otherwise, the shutting down of BMI would lead to widespread job loss which is in no one’s best interest.
I Wonder if this opens the door to Virgin Atlantic coming back with a proposal that is less “anti-competitive”……a boy can dream can’t he??
Here is the Marketwatch.com article sourced from The Times (London)
LONDON (MarketWatch) — Lufthansa AG is considering shutting down its loss-making British Midland Ltd. – known as BMI – if its sale to International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG.LN) is held up by anti-trust authorities in Brussels, the Sunday Times reports citing unidentified sources.
The German airline agreed in December to sell BMI to IAG, the parent company of British Airways and Iberia, for a maximum GBP172.5 million. But the deal could be held up following Brussels’ rejection last week of concessions offered by IAG, which the competition regulator said were inadequate, the paper says.
Lufthansa wants to avoid continuing losses at the carrier which would result from a protracted investigation, it adds.
A representative for Lufthansa said that the company’s position was unchanged.
“We are aiming for regulatory approval in Phase 1 and are on track with the deal process,” he said.
Reporting annual earnings Thursday, the German carrier attributed its poor performance partly to losses at BMI and said that the sale will bolster its earnings performance, which should enable Lufthansa to post a net profit this in 2012 after the EUR13 million net loss in 2011.
by Lufthansa Flyer | Mar 18, 2012 | Airlines |
I know that it’s only March (though it feels like June), but most savvy travelers strategize their travel plans months in advance, especially when it comes to booking Ultra-Premium seats on some of the world’s greatest airlines.
To this end, I was looking at award availability on United’s MileagePlus website for November and was impressed by the amount of Swiss(LX) First Class seats available for redemption for their flights from Montreal(YUL) to Zurich(ZRH). Granted that you would need to connect through Montreal, but that is relatively easy to build into your ticket.
Even better is the fact that the seats are available at the Saver Award level which means it only takes 135,000 miles to book a round trip ticket. Looking at random November and December dates, it was relatively easy to find round trip tickets.
Swiss has the reputation of providing travelers the best First Class experience when it comes to travel between North America and Europe, and until Lufthansa’s new First Class product comes online beginning this year, Swiss has no competition! When there is a chance to book tickets for one of the best air travel experiences you can have, I strongly recommend you jump on the opportunity. Remember, Swiss First Class Cabins only have 8 seats, and not all of them are available for reward booking, so when you see availability like this, you book the seats and then plan the rest of your trip around them!
A Look Inside Swiss' First Class Cabin
The beauty of being able to fly to Zurich is that it puts you in the middle of Europe and you can easily fly to most European destinations within an hour or two. This puts places like Barcelona, Rome, Venice, Munich, London, Prague, etc. within easy reach. These cities are often as vibrant and as interesting to visit in the winter as they are in the summer (especially the warmer Mediterranean destinations). An extra bonus for traveling in the winter is that there are few tourists around to impede you and hotels generally have lower rates when compared to peak summer months.
My suggestion is to be proactive. If you have miles burning a hole in your pocket, this is as good a way to use them as any. If you are close to having enough miles, sign up for the various credit card deals out there that offer large miles bonuses (Chase Sapphire or United Explorer if you are a MileagePlus member) and top off your mileage balances. If you don’t have enough miles for Swiss’ Fist Class, there’s plenty of seats available in Swiss’ Business Class which I would say is better than most other airline’s First Class products. To book a round trip Swiss Business Class ticket, it takes 100,000 miles which is a great value when you consider the quality of the product.
A Wonderful Business Class Seat
You’ve worked hard to accumulate your miles. You’ve sat on cramped regional jets, you’ve been stuck in the middle seat surrounded by Sumo Wrestlers, you’ve had screaming babies surrounding you and incessant kids kicking the back of your seat. This is your time! Reward yourself and be pampered! 🙂
I’ve booked my seats, now it’s time to get yours!!!
If you need help finding availability, let me know and I’ll do my best to help you sort out your options!!
by Lufthansa Flyer | Mar 18, 2012 | Airlines, Industry News |
In news from Vienna, Lufthansa has called on the Austrian government to waive the air ticket tax that Austria attaches to each ticket.
Lufthansa’s CEO Christop Franz has asked Austria to completely abolish the air ticket tax to help Austrian’s competitiveness but the request apparently fell on relatively deaf ears. Austria’s Ministry of Finance responded predictably by saying there’s no room in the budget for such a cut and went as far as to suggest that it is Lufthansa’s responsibility to manage it’s business model. I can see this becoming the proverbial political “hot potato” should Austrian continue to struggle to the point that Lufthansa one day decides to stop the subsidies. Right now it looks like the beginning of a “Game of Chicken” between carrier and government.
As part of the recently announced capital injection of 140 million Euros, Lufthansa expects to reorganize Austrian based on the existing arrangements that are in place for Austrian subsidiary Tyrolean unless Austrian’s worker council agrees to substantial austerity measures.
Reading through the comments of various German and Austrian media, it looks like Lufthansa expects upwards of 300 pilots to leave Austrian should the carrier need to reorganize. Apparently each pilot is entitled to severance that would range between 30 and 60 thousand Euro, costing Lufthansa up to 18 million Euro in pilot severance alone. Lufthansa also left open the possibility of layoffs at Austrian to help curb expenses.
Lufthansa has stood by Austrian and is committed to its success. It had said that the capital injection will allow for new long-haul aircraft, modernization of current cabins, new Airbus aircraft to help standardize their fleet and construction of Vienna’s new Skylink Terminal. Lufthansa has no desire to turn Austrian into a regional carrier, but I think that may not be a destiny that they can control. Without the support of labor and government, it becomes a difficult road for Lufthansa and Austrian to navigate.
source: Friedlnews.com
